Socialist Worker

---

Exclusive: Post-election migrant crackdown—Tories' racist plan revealed

We can exclusively reveal a secret government plan to unleash a torrent of raids on hundreds of workplaces across Britain. Named Operation Centurion it is a major two-week crackdown on immigrants without papers set to be launched on Monday 2 June. 

---

International Comment Features Reviews What We Think Other

News

Coalition humiliated after big poll losses

The government crashed in the elections. But the vote hasn’t gone to the left, writes Simon Basketter

Labour fails to learn lessons from election, so it panders to the right

Labour is still the main home for those opposed to the government. But it leaves many voters uninspired.

Did Ukip win votes from each mainstream party?

More than half of Ukip’s supporters in the European elections came from disenfranchised Tory voters, a poll commissioned by Lord Ashcroft has found.

Why local government workers should vote Yes to strike

From classroom assistants to social workers, and from gardeners to engineers, up to a million local government workers are voting on strikes over the next few weeks after employers awarded them a pay rise of just 1 percent. Socialist Worker explains why Unison and GMB union members should vote Yes

Narrow gap in polls as Scottish referendum campaign launched

Tommy Sheridan says independence can be the basis for radical change, writes Raymie Kiernan

Lambeth College lecturers set date of 3 June to start all-out strike against hated contracts

Lecturers at Lambeth College are set to start an all-out strike on Tuesday of next week. 

Victory for anti-fascists as Nazi Nick Griffin gets the boot

Nazi British National Party (BNP) leader, Nick Griffin, was booted out of the European parliament in election results announced last Sunday.

Strikers shut Ritzy cinema as union puts in new claim

Cinema workers at the Ritzy Picturehouse in south London struck for the fifth day in six weeks on Wednesday of last week. 

Freedom Riders want free fares back

Campaigners in Barnsley plan to lobby the council on Thursday of this week to demand the reinstatement of free train travel for older people in South Yorkshire.

PCS conference votes for guarantees before Unite merger talks

The PCS union’s annual conference took place between Tuesday and Thursday of last week.

Doncaster Care UK workers meet to decide next move

Doncaster Care UK workers’ strike committee was set to meet on Wednesday of this week to decide the next steps in their dispute. The Unison union members have struck for 34 days since the end of February. 

Day of action in Portsmouth over local government pay

Activists in the Unison union took part in a day of action over pay on Wednesday of last week. In Portsmouth, union members leafletted workers at the city’s civic offices urging them to vote yes in an upcoming strike ballot over pay.

Construction workers protest over ‘umbrella’ tax

Construction workers took part in a series of protests on Friday of last week. The protests were part of a national day of action against “umbrella” tax scams.

MPs and trade unionists say, defend Mark Harding

Some 90 supporters of RMT union rep Mark Harding gathered outside his trial at the City of London magistrates’ court on Friday of last week.

Pay action could hit NHS this summer

A consultative ballot of 100,000 health workers in the Unite union was set to end on Friday of this week.

Rank and file action is key to push for 10 July strikes

One million workers across different unions could strike together on 10 July. That would be a massive boost to the resistance to the Tories.

Teachers' action, not talks, can beat Michael Gove

The NUT union has said it will “take action” with other workers on 10 July if talks with the government fail.

Lecturers must be part of the resistance

Organising maximum solidarity for the indefinite strike at Lambeth College will be a big part of the backdrop at the UCU union’s annual congress in Manchester this week.

Transport news round-up

Optare, a Leeds-based supplier to some of Britain’s biggest bus and coach companies, strike. TfL Dial-a-Ride workers to strike. London Underground power workers settle their dispute for more talks. Catering workers to walk out on East Midlands trains. Tyne and Wear metro strike suspended.

Dundee university workers plan walkouts to save jobs

Workers at the University of Dundee are balloting for strikes to save jobs.

Big vote for strikes at One Housing

Workers at One Housing have voted by 88 percent for strikes.

Bedfordshire council lobby says, keep our schools open

The GMB union held a lobby of Bedfordshire council on Tuesday of this week.

EDL demo is a flop in Nottinghamshire

The racist English Defence League called a “memorial rally” in Sutton in Ashfield, north Nottinghamshire, last Sunday.

Solidarity with activists in Egypt

Around 50 people joined a workshop organised by Egypt Solidarity last Saturday.

Hundreds hear Tommy Sheridan speak on Scottish independence

Some 180 people packed into Keir Hardie Primary School in Newarthill near Motherwell to hear Tommy Sheridan speak on independence last week.

Journalists in Newsquest ballot over conditions

Some 150 journalists working for Newsquest across England are to ballot for strikes

Syrian campaigners take on HSBC bank

Refugee organisation Rapar and the Syrian Rethink Rebuild Society have launched a campaign against HSBC bank’s “systematic targeting” of Syrian nationals.

News round-up

Demetre Fraser | Official quizzed over Hillsborough slurs | Joblessness led to suicide | Thousands of kids face arrest

Fight against fascist Front National begins with protests across France

 Around 10,000 people, mainly youth, have marched against the Front National (FN) in France today, Thursday.

Tories' racist raids - more shocking details of the plans for Operation Centurion

The government’s planned crackdown on undocumented workers is set to go ahead from Monday morning of next week. Operation Centurion was exclusively revealed in this week’s Socialist Worker.

---

International

Voters put pressure on rulers in Greece

Euro elections showed a swing to the left and a mood for a fightback, reports Panos Garganas

Demonstrators in Bangkok resist coup by the military in Thailand

General Prayuth Chan-ocha officially took power in Thailand on Thursday of last week – and mass protests simultaneously erupted.

Victory for Front National is a warning from France

The victory of the Front National (FN) in the European elections will have a terrible impact on French politics.

Egypt's regime launches repressive clampdown in run-up to presidential election

Opponents of Egypt’s regime face repression but are determined to keep resisting, says Judith Orr

Balancing act for Ukraine's new leader Petro Poroshenko

Petro Poroshenko, owner of Ukraine’s biggest chocolate company, is Ukraine's new president-elect.

---

Comment

Lev Vygotsky: A revolutionary way of understanding how we think

John Parrington looks at what the work of Lev Vygotsky can tell us about the working of the human mind

Years of bitter financial crisis fuels Euro poll shocks

The recent elections are the second to take place under the long shadow of the financial crisis, writes Alex Callinicos

---

Features

Insiders: 'Prison exploits and mistreats us, but it cannot defeat us'

Former prison inmates talk to Annette Mackin about the brutality of life in prison and how, despite tremendous odds, people fight back

The shifting state of racism in Britain

Many claim that opposing immigration is not racist—but as Ken Olende explains, the scapegoating of migrants has seen racist attitudes in Britain shift onto new targets

---

Reviews

Jimmy's Hall: How a music hall turned into a warzone in 1930s Ireland

Ken Loach spoke to Judith Orr about his latest film, Jimmy’s Hall—based on the true story of one socialist’s battle for freedom in a society riven by class

Omar: Panic and paranoia rule on the streets of Palestine

This love story, tense thriller, and political commentary by the acclaimed director of Paradise Now is set in the West Bank, Palestine.

The Dirties: righting the wrongs of adolescence

Capturing the spirit of bullying and fear among teachers and pupils, this revenge comedy sets out to right the wrongs of your adolescent years.

Quirke: John Banville's new Dublin-based crime series

This three-part crime series is based on novels written by Booker Prize winner John Banville under the pen name Benjamin Black.

After Tomorrow: Financial crash leads to nightmare vision of Britain

This dystopian novel won this year’s Little Rebels Award this month. The book, aimed at readers over 12, describes how a financial crash in Britain leads to a nightmare.

---

What We Think

After the elections—build an alternative to the confidence of the right

The shockwave of Ukip’s success has put the mainstream parties in a panic. The Liberal Democrats are in meltdown and Nick Clegg’s leadership is on the line.

Resist racist abortion panic—defend women's right to choose

The shockwave of Ukip’s success has put the mainstream parties in a panic. The Liberal Democrats are in meltdown and Nick Clegg’s leadership is on the line.

---

Other Categories

Letters

Leading on a letter from a Romanian worker in Britain attacking Farage and including letters on supporting South African miners and the blatant sexism that exists in most of the press today

Tories push for fracking where there isn’t enough gas

This week's Troublemaker leads on fracking and includes stories about ubiquitous royal parasite Prince George, faulty firm British Gas and bankers partying it up at the Chelsea flower show

---